I visited a once-thriving pub now facing demolition - and I couldn't help feeling sad

The last time I visited the venue was in the more prosperous times of 2017, when the venue had been awarded its third consecutive AA Rosette for culinary excellence. On that occasion I went to the restaurant during the day and remember it being a light-filled area with a buzz about it.

It specialised in traditional English food, with dishes made from scratch on site, including sauces. And as well as the AA Rosettes it had picked up numerous accolades in the annual Taste of Staffordshire Awards.

But the past seven years have not been kind to the hospitality industry, with pubs and restaurants across the country battling to stay afloat in a sea of rising costs and falling customer numbers. The many weeks of enforced closure during 2020, as part of national lockdown measures put in place to control the spread of coronavirus, also had a devastating effect on venues that relied on social gatherings and people venturing out of their homes for a drink or a meal.

During the past two years The Shropshire Inn’s restaurant has been closed, with only drinks being served at the pub. Chris Mosiuk, who spoke on behalf of the venue’s owners at the recent planning committee meeting, told councillors the once-thriving pub used to take in over £30,000 per week, but now takes in around £600 per week with a few days in recent months bringing in less than £70.

He added: “Visitor numbers continue to dwindle, with approximately five to six customers a day Monday to Thursday, 20 on a Friday and 10 on Saturdays and Sundays. The already limited opening hours have been reduced further and the closing time brought forward to 8pm as there is generally no custom beyond this time.”

When I drove to The Shropshire Inn shortly after 6pm on Thursday, there were just two other vehicles in the generously-sized car park. The restaurant area I had once visited was in darkness, with a board outside the front of the pub advertising that the bar and beer garden were still open.

Entering a side door on the opposite end of the car park, there were just two other customers sat in the bar area. Despite the quietness the pub retained its warm welcome however, with pictures of days gone by on the walls and a TV switched on, where I could sit with my orange juice and watch the evening news.

Only one other customer came in during my visit, meaning there were five of us in the bar at its busiest on Thursday night (including the pub owner). I got on with some knitting while I supped my juice and listened to the TV news – it was a relaxing space to unwind after a busy day of council meetings and writing up articles.

But I couldn’t help feeling sad that more people weren’t making the most of this community space. In my 18-plus years of reporting on news in Stafford Borough, I have found Haughton is a community-spirited village, with friendly residents who care about their area and neighbours.

Haughton has won Staffordshire’s Best Kept Village competition a number of times, thanks to the dedication of volunteers and keen gardeners. And The Shropshire Inn has itself supported the vlllage’s annual day out for residents, known as Horace’s Outing, and the local primary school, Haughton St Giles.

From the 1980s onwards Haughton became renowned for a colourful festive tradition. What started out as a joke in another local pub more than 40 years ago – a pledge between friends to decorate a house for Christmas – spiralled over the years into a spectacular annual village light display each December.

The Haughton Christmas Lights, featuring thousands of bulbs and bright festive displays in gardens and outside homes across the village, has raised many thousands of pounds over the years for charities including Katharine House Hospice and Midlands Air Ambulance, as well as community groups. It has attracted visitors from as far as Cambridge, who were given a bright dose of Christmas cheer as they passed along the A518 between Stafford and Newport.

For now the lights remain on in the evening at The Shropshire Inn’s bar, which currently opens at around 5pm. The venue remains up for sale too., so a potential buyer could yet step in to keep it running.

Haughton does also have another pub along Newport Road – The Bell Inn. But if you wish to keep enjoying visits to rural pubs in Staffordshire’s beautiful countryside the saying “use it or lose it” rings poignantly true.